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38
Western & English Today
FALL 2014
"Making boots is a team
effort," Dvorak says. "Each
worker — from the hide
inspector to the finishing team
that packs boots for shipment
— checks each piece to make
sure all previous tasks were done
right. That quality control from
colleagues maintains excellence.
No one wants to get his or her
work sent back for a tear-down
to get it fixed."
With 140 employees, the
companies rank among the
largest employers in Mercedes.
On average, employees have
worked for Rios for 18 years.
Like the company's owners
and managers, many staffers
are kin.
Dvorak offers several
examples: "Francisco, the
production manager for
Anderson Bean — his
uncle runs the shipping
department; his father makes
heels and soles at Rios. And
Arturo — he started here
33 years ago sweeping floors
and moved up to be our line
foreman. Now his daughter
works in accounts payable."
O
n the factory floor, each
craftsperson performs
a specialty. A Rios employee
for 33 years, Ismael (nick-
named Smiley for his habit
of working with a handful
of metal tacks stuffed in his
mouth) is the laster, shap-
ing the leather. Lionel is an
expert in channel welting,
and Lupita sews the "ears"
(boot pulls).
A separate four-person
division handles recrafting
(repairing worn or damaged
boots). Over the years, the
department has encountered its share of cases of unusual wear.
"One day, a pair of black quill ostrich boots came back all
white, salt-crusted and torn up," Trainor says. "I called up the guy
and asked, 'What did you do to them?' Turns out, he was a shrimp
fisherman who wore them all the time."
While preserving tradition, the companies also pursue
innovations. Says Dvorak: "Guys who work construction and on
oil rigs were calling to say, 'Why
are you chasing me out of my
A-Bs? I want a boot I can wear
to work.' So Anderson Bean just
launched an upscale work-boot
line with a steel toe — they're
really boss."
"Style trends are so much
shorter than they were 30
years ago," Moody says. "We're
seeing more bright colors; even
purple or red boots in size
16EE. Younger customers have
a broader taste in color for the
tops, although vamps will still
be brown or black."
Trainor mentions
another trend. "We're
currently seeing interest in
the distressed look. For that,
we make the boots and then
throw them in what we call
'the hamster wheel' with
lava rocks to scruff them
up."
Celebrating its Made-in-
the-USA tradition, Rios has
a new promotional T-shirt
that reads, "There are no
cowboys in China." Says
Trainor: "There's something
about making something as
good as you can make it
… and it's made in Texas.
That's as big a deal for me
as closing a deal on Wall
Street."
Rios of Mercedes
(800) 717-1853;
riosofmercedes.com
Anderson Bean/Macie
Bean/Horse Power
(800) 903-9999;
andersonbean.com
Olathe
(800) 255-6126;
olatheboots.com
Seattle-based writer/photographer Risa Wyatt took a side trip
to Mercedes while attending the Outdoor Writers of America
Association's annual conference in McAllen. She contributes to
Wine Enthusiast, SKI, Forbes Life, RV Life, the Chicago Tribune,
the Boston Globe and the Philadelphia Inquirer, among other pub-
lications. Visit her website at RisaWyatt.com.
WALKING THE WALK: Top: The Macie Bean line for women ofers jaunty insets and embroidery. Bottom: Pat Moody and Trainor Evans kick back with their library of vintage boots that
dates back more than 50 years.